Schools relay successes, worries to legislators

When the state Legislature convenes in January, scores of issues will be vying for attention and funding.

To ensure potential legislators know the challenges Montana’s schools — particularly those in the Kalispell district — are facing, Kalispell school officials and trustees held an informational session Thursday night.

During the session “Education Matters” at Buffalo Hill Golf Course, administrators and school board members outlined the state of Kalispell Public Schools.

From test scores to budget to school buildings, legislators heard about the positives and problems of Kalispell’s schools.

Assistant Superintendent Dan Zorn outlined some of the district’s highlights, including academic performances on par with or better than other Class AA districts in the state.

“We’re seeing increased achievement levels with our kids that we’re real proud of, frankly,” Zorn said.

As evidence he cited last year’s fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders’ performance on the Criterion Referenced Test, the assessment Montana uses to determine whether its students are meeting standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Kalispell’s fourth-graders had the highest math and reading scores in the state in 2010, the eighth-graders were No. 2 and sophomores were in the middle of the Class AA pack.

Zorn also discussed the district’s dropout rate; last year the graduation rate was 81 percent. Dropouts refer only to those students who enter the district as freshmen and do not graduate in four years, Zorn explained. Students who graduate in five years count against the district; students who transfer to another district do not.

The district is hopeful that the dropout rate will decline in the future, trustee Ivan Lorentzen said.

Struggles with reading can contribute to dropouts, and thanks to a revamped curriculum introduced several years ago, elementary test scores have improved dramatically.

Now “we have really good readers moving to the high school,” he said. “Dropout rates start being addressed in second or third grade.”

Superintendent Darlene Schottle outlined work the district is doing to increase its efficiency, including working with its 13 feeder schools through the Northwest Montana Educational Cooperative, partnering with Flathead Valley Community College and cooperating with other Class AA schools.

She also praised the community for its generous support — but noted that even with that support, the district had to cut $819,000 from its 2010-11 budget and anticipates even deeper cuts next year.

The biggest challenges the district faces are financial, as district clerk Todd Watkins and trustee Alice Ritzman outlined.

Kalispell Public Schools anticipates about a $1.8 million shortfall in its 2011-12 general fund budget, based on Watkins’ early projections. Factored into that figure is a 2 percent reduction in state funding.

In 2009, the Legislature used one-time-only federal stimulus money to backfill a promised 3 percent annual school funding increase. That money will be gone at the end of the 2010-11 school year.

Kalispell schools used stimulus money to support the equivalent of 23.5 full-time employees, Watkins said. When the money goes at the end of the year, those positions might go, too.

The district had hoped money from a recently passed federal jobs bill might help replace some of those one-time-only dollars. Montana will receive $30.7 million from the bill, which was touted as a way to help save teacher jobs.

But state law says Montana must spend money outside the general fund, if such money is available, before it spends general fund dollars. State Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Dayton, explained the law succinctly Thursday night.

“The Legislature gives schools X number of dollars no matter where the money comes from,” Taylor said, adding that state law does not allow schools — or other entities — to spend more than that amount.

“It’s really a shame it works like that, but that’s the way it is,” she said.

School districts’ only option when facing a budget deficit, aside from making drastic cuts, is asking voters for extra tax support. Two levies have failed in Kalispell within the last year, a $4.1 million building reserve levy last fall and a $338,000 general fund levy last spring.

While levies are part of the funding formula the Legislature uses for schools, the recession has made it difficult for Kalispell to get the money it needs without making deep cuts.

“We’re a little gun-shy about asking anything from our voters,” Watkins said. “One thing Darlene and I would love to get away from is voted levies.”

Last year’s failed building reserve levy has been a major problem for the district. Without the levied money — which Kalispell voters supported for 23 years — Kalispell is struggling to maintain its 14 buildings, Ritzman said.

A state study of the school district identified $16 million in building deficiencies, half of which were at Flathead High School, she said. Ritzman showed photos of cracked windows, crumbling brickwork, peeling (and probably lead-based) paint and other problems at the school.

Stimulus money over the last two years helped the district finish some much-needed repairs and upgrades, but without more money — whether from the government or a local tax levy — the district won’t be able to maintain Flathead High, she said.

She urged legislators to consider how districts must rely on the public to keep their buildings safe.

“It’s subject to the mood of the voters, and in this economy, that mood has not been very positive,” she said. “It’s hard to maintain old buildings, and [levies are] the only mechanism in place to support these facilities.”

Trustee Brad Eldredge wrapped up the session by emphasizing education’s importance, particularly given the economic climate.

“Education is your umbrella, your protection in a climate of economic uncertainty. … It helps our whole society be more productive, more prosperous,” he said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.